“You are dying, you deserve to die.” Joshua knelt. He had to get answers. “Why did you kill Sarah? Why the feud against my family? What have we ever done to you, Snapes?”
“An eye for an eye.”
“But Sarah?”
“I had to make you suffer by killing her.”
Snapes stared at his wound with wild red eyes, fearful eyes, eyes that recognized the beat of his heart pumped out and added to a pool of blood coagulating on the white hoar frost, scarlet on white.
“Suffered financial ruin and humiliation when an investment deal done with the Rutlands went sour. The Rutlands have everything. I have nothing.”
Each word was punctuated with a deeply drawn-out burble as Snapes dug for one more breath. Joshua knew Snapes’ lungs were filling with liquid and, in a few more seconds, he’d drown in his own blood.
“I loved my brother. He was all I had, but he was a coward…took his life. Not me. You had to pay. The Rutlands will be sorry they crossed me…all the Rutlands must pay if they haven’t already.”
“What do you mean? Who put you up to this?”
Snapes bubbled through a harsh laugh. “The Duke of Westbrook. I took his money, but he didn’t have to pay me. The pleasure was mine.”
Pleasure? Only the vilest, evilest person would take pleasure in someone else’s suffering. But right now, he wanted more than anything to make Snapes suffer even more.
Snapes gurgled out a laugh. “Too bad I didn’t get to tell the duke all the details.”
Joshua gritted his teeth. “You’re crazy. The Duke of Westbrook is a good friend of the family.”
“Is he?” Snapes coughed out, then his eyes flicked from side to side and he stared into nothingness, his pig-mouth slackened and his head drooped to the side.
Joshua stared. Then shook his head. Just another bloodied corpse the devil had called home.
He stood, took Juliet again into his arms. I saw British troops heading toward Fort Stephens and guessed too late that they had divided their offenses. I hurried to Blackberry Valley as fast as I could.”
Joshua smoothed a hand down Juliet’s back to ease her trembling. “Did Onontio or Snapes hurt you?”
“No. I kicked Onontio to get away from him.”
Within the next few minutes, while he was still holding Juliet, a dozen men from the town surrounded them, including Grace, Thomas, his father and Two Eagles.
“Crims, Maybelle!” Juliet shouted with tears of gladness, kissing the old reprobate and hugging his horse. “I thought the Indians had killed you. I saw Maybelle’s hat—”
“Maybelle and I galloped out of town, dodging those demons. Her hat flew off. I wasn’t fool enough to risk going back for it. She’ll have a new one made for her.”
To James, Juliet said, “Caroline and the children are safe. You have a new son. They are safe in a cave.”
“I know, Thomas told me everything you have done. We are going to fetch them. Thank you for saving my family and bringing my new child into the world. I’ll always be indebted to you, Juliet.” James said and turned to Joshua. “Fort Stephens is safe, thanks to your warning. Colonel Cummings sends his best along with reinforcements.”
Joshua picked his wife up in his arms and carried her to the Bell home. “When you were in those madmen’s grasps, I thought I’d lost the sun, the moon and the stars. I despaired and feared of losing you. Not two sentiments I want to repeat.”
“In my heart, I’d knew you’d come.”
Joshua gazed down at her, nestled up against him, her tousled head resting trustingly against his chest. “How I love you.”
Yet peace would not come to Joshua. Not yet. Not when he surveyed the catastrophic ruins of Blackberry Valley, innocent civilians slaughtered for nothing. The remainder of the war yawned before him. If he survived.
She pulled his face to look at her. “Joshua, I love you.” The smile she gave him contained the pride of a legion of conquerors and the love of a chorus of angels.
Unexpectedly, he found himself grateful. Grateful for all the darkness, the misery and the sorrow because it allowed him to know love when he found it again. And he understood without reservation that all the ruined, broken, disregarded fragments of his soul were worth placing back together again, because, in Juliet, he discovered love and new light.
Epilogue
